Now, this is no cop out "grilled cheese martini" that just shoves a wedge of sandwich on the rim of a martini glass and calls it a day. We're talking about vodka that has literally been infused with a grilled cheese sandwich (using Beecher's signature cheese, of course). If you're feeling a little apprehensive about the idea, you're not alone — general manager Sarah Jennerjahn had a similar reaction when chef-owner Kurt Dammeier first presented her with the idea. But for Dammeier the concept was seemingly pretty straightforward. "Well, just grill up a couple of our Flagship sandwiches until they are perfectly ready to eat and then put them in a container and pour vodka over them," he explained to her.

Fast-forward to discovering the perfect recipe for a 24-hour infusion, double-filtering the mixture through cheese cloth (how appropriate), and that, says Jennerjahn, is when the fun began. From there crafting the drink was a collaborative effort. Someone mentions tomatoes and bartender Ksenia Stillwell chimes in with the suggestion to make a tomato juice ice cube. How about adding something herbal to the flavor profile? Stillwell has the solution again, recommending muddled basil. And for the finishing touch, balsamic reduction on the rim, Jennerjahn's idea. Wait — make that almost finishing touch. Coming full circle, the last piece of the puzzle was provided by Dammeier, who thought to add bits of baked, crispy prosciutto to the balsamic garnish.

39 Responses to “Grilled Cheese Martinis”

Sounds like a tasty cocktail, but what does it have to do with a martini? That’s a pet peve for me – it’s questionable whether anything without gin can be called a martini, but certainly nothing without vermouth can.

I agree, as a purist, vermouth should be splashed in a chilled glass, then removed, and chilled gin poured in. the only other ingredient may be olives or a lemon twist. The gin should be Sapphire or Hendricks. anything else? is not a martini, it is a foofy drink. I love me some martinis, and I love some grilled cheese sammich. I would EAT a grilled cheese sammich, while drinking a martini. but? purist…. :( I miss out on all the possibilities of appletinis, chocolatinis, etc, because I do not drink foofy drinks.

Well, they might be able to make it on bread from some other kind of grains, and there’s a lot of potato vodka around … I don’t blame you for your skepticism, but I doubt the wheat part is the biggest issue here. x)

I can eat wheat, and love me a good grilled cheese, and I’m of one mind with you on this. Sounds disgusting. I am of the opinion that all these “-tini” drinks are made for people who don’t really like to drink alcohol at all.

I like the idea that people try different combinations in order to beguile our palettes, but I think we should really draw the line after adding fruit and veg. Olives, lemon twists and the like, possibly salt. But cheese? Nah. It’s up there with Steak au chocolat.

That looks like a nice grilled cheese cocktail, but it may not be the original: Shawn Soole, the current bartender at one of the finer cocktail lounge’s in my fair home city of Victoria BC, is credited with making the first Grilled Cheese martini – http://www.clivesclassiclounge.com/GCMartini.pdf

Well, if we want to get pedantic about it, we should remember that vodka, by definition, is the purest alcohol that can be distilled- just alcohol and water. Gin, on the other hand, is a pure alcohol infused with stuff, traditionally herbs, and most notably juniper berries. Thus, a vodka infused with a grilled cheese sandwich is, technically, a grilled-cheese gin. A drink made out of it, and poured into a martini glass, would be a -tini drink (going by lightning’s definition above), although it still wouldn’t be a martini without vermouth.

Wikipedia – “The name gin is derived from either the French genièvre or the Dutch jenever, which both mean “juniper”.[3] The 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica states that the word gin is an abbreviation of “Geneva”, both words being derived from the French genièvre (juniper).[4]”
I don’t think grilled cheese infused vodka is a gin in any sense, technical or colloquial.

I’m going to have to assume that this is better than it sounds. Because how this concept would seem even palatable to anybody is beyond me. It makes me want to gag!

I mean, I would not necessarily be opposed to a hearty grilled cheese drink/soup… like some thin cheese sauce with toasted bread bits in it, served in a martini glass. That actually sounds really good to me. But combining cheese with vodka sounds awful.